GOLDEN TIMES 1-2/02

GGoollddeenn TTiimmeess 1-2/02

The official Newsletter of the World Goldpanning Association ISSN-1238-0083

Publisher: Kauko Launonen Editors: Paul Thurkettle, Inkeri Syrjanen, Pirjo Muotkajarvi

The 2001 World Champion National Teams

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In this issue: Message from the President A word from the Vice President Treasurers update Editorial 2001 World Goldpanning Campionship Reviews and Results 2001 South African National Championships review News from Poland 2002 World Goldpanning Championship Information 2002 European Championships Information Gold and St Yrieix la Perche country : A love story of 200 MA Jack London – The author of the gold fields Golden history of Chana Report on the 2001 WGA meeting Competition! WGA Web Site Short history of the WGA Dates for your Diary

Message from the President…

not had the opportunity to w

e

An unusually long time has passed since the previous Golden Times was published. So, I have ish our

readers a Merry Christmas but the least Ican do is to wish you all the best for thyear 2002. For the majority of European countries this year, among other things, also means the introduction of a new, common currency. Who knows, perhaps one day we will also have a common language to make it easier to communicate with each other. During the past year, while reading publications of our member associations, I have had the pleasure of seeing, that activities among our common field of

interest are brisk and lively. And what I find most appealing, those activities are not only targeted to organizing gold panning competitions. Work along the gold creeks and rivers, in the form of studying and restoring history of past and present as well as familiarizing with new alluvial gold deposits is very important. Competitions draw together large numbers of gold panning enthusiast. That is naturally really important. But we must not, however, forget that another main objective of our association is to store and cherish the heritage of gold prospecting. The highlight of last summer was the World Goldpanning Championships. Hundreds of gold panners from all over the world travelled to Australia for this annual event. The largest team of nearly one hundred members came from Finland. The vast majority of them also participated in the competitions. Finns are known as sports enthusiast, so our national gold panning championships draw together about 400 competitors every summer. In addition to that we

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have something like twenty local competitions. I was not the only one to wonder the lack of local people in the audience of the Australian championships. Despite free admission to the competition area, the members of various national teams seemed to be the only spectators. The same applies to several other World Championships as well. I hope that future organizers will pay more attention to this. We cannot compete with football with tens of thousands of spectators but I would certainly wish to see that the general audience would outnumber the participants in our competitions. Admission fees to the competition grounds will make a healthy base to the economy of the event. Currently the participants will together cover for most expenses of the event. Naturally the arrival of hundreds of gold panners will boost the local economy but this must not be the main objective. A couple of years ago I promised to write a manual, based on my experience of 30 years in this field, in order to assist future competition organizers. The work

is well under way but yet uncompleted, because my goal is to make the manual cover all possible issues that may arise. It will also include some issues of principle such as whether beer drinking, for example, should be part of the official competition schedule. The purpose of this example is to raise discussion on the objectives of the championships. Do we want to organise high standard competition or do we just want to have fun. The first version of the manual will be available within the next few months. I hope that it will solve some problems of the organizers. Finally, I will forward my sincere wish to all our members to provide Golden Times with information on locations and sites where tourists can pan for gold in your country. This information is frequently asked. Best wishes and golden moments for all of you Kauko Launonen

A word from the Vice-President

My Dear Friends, Let me rewrite a few notes from my field notebook and, at the same time, point out some your interesting ideas recorded during our meetings. I hope there is few of you who dare reading them. A few months ago we had the opportunity to meet together in a romantic frame of Alpine foothills in Italy, and shortly afterwards we experienced a most remote journey of our goldpanning history so far - the journey to Australia and our last word championships. Both these top international goldpanning events reached the important point: decorated by lovely nature they provided good

competition, good space for people to stay and be together, and the extraordinary effort of organizers to make the visit as convenient as possible for all goldpanners. What more do we need? There is enough experienced organizers capable to satisfy the custom programme of every meeting among you at present. We acquired a useful and important experience of management links indicating who are potential reliable co-organizers and partners from outside the family of gold panners and who are not. A broad discussion on competition rules and the voices supporting none or minor change of our competition rules are promising. It is possible to identify the fact that you already

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accepted these rules and many technical details in practice, and that organizers mostly feel fully responsible for their good applications. As far as I understand, our priorities are to keep goldpanning activities natural, clear, simple, relaxing, reasonable, and in the same time enriching, exciting, with a spirit of past and present pioneering, and socially maximally open and unstructured. Keeping these characteristics in our minds would be good; it will help to make our events an ideal leisure time opportunity for many active people. The first year of the millennium was, at least from my point of view, very stimulating, suggesting we have learnt a lot from the past years. We expanded on the Southern Hemisphere, and the last continent, which does not host our top meetings, will soon be only the rugged and frosty Antarctica. So what should be proposed to proceed further? It has already been discussed during several last meetings of WGA representatives: we need good general rules for our activities - a Statutes of the World Goldpanning Association, and a formal registration the WGA to become thus a real co-ordinator of activities of our members, who are mostly formally well constituted in their countries. This is an important, obligatory and very demanding task for the untrained people; however, most of our goldpanners might consider this point a bit academic. Could we propose anything more progressive to our young and fresh members? Can we prepare anything new for them, what exceeds our own knowledge? We should think about this altogether. Several proposals might bring new moments into the spectrum of our activities and ways we use. * There are several international organizations formally or informally dealing with gold. It is. E.g., The World Gold Council, or professional exploration and mining organizations, or associations like the Prospectors´ and Miners´ Association of Victoria, or the Gold Prospectors Association of America, who were established decades ago. Let’s look for partners among these groups, and I believe that interesting possibilities may arise from these links. * Once we can say who we are, positively identify ourselves, show our "insignia", Curriculum Vitae, our profile and focus of interest, we can display them and ask new people to join us. It would be then easier for new people to find us through the national organizations. * Another interesting chance, especially for minor European associations and clubs, may appear when we work with Koos´s idea from Italy. He mentioned the possibility to look for countrymen disseminated through the world gold fields who might substantially contribute to fresh links to new and "hot” places. These people, or even younger family generations, might be happy to get involved in gold panning clubs from their original mother country. I like this idea very much, and consider it well worthy next development. * Our events always remind historic milestones, surprisingly frequently connected to booms of ancient gold mining. The network of local museums and phematic exhibitions with links to the Kulta Museo in Tankavaara creates a broad scale of opportunities for cooperation between public, representatives on both local and regional levels, and professional world, and should be fully supported by WGA and our members. * The Polish idea of the Union of Golden Towns is another idea that deserves our interest. If well presented, supported by WGA and sensitively implanted to the local municipal life and local development, it slowly opens new chances for international cooperation and involvement of our members. * Development of the attractive Internet page of the WGA and its members is the crucial moment on the way to our presentation to the world. Having followed the above given points, we can immediately return to the second point concerning our identification. We were speaking about a new logo suitable for official pins of WGA in Maryborough. The World GP Championships flag logo should

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probably serve as the basis for adjusted versions (but we should not exclude new designs from the competition). There is a good version of the flat logo used on the first WGA web page, but it is necessary to make the final design of the pin. I would like to ask you all for help. If there is any idea how to remake and shape it, please, send me your proposal in any form, best as a computer file; finally, I’ll try to prepare some alternatives, send them to national associations, and we can select the best one. There was an offer to produce WGA pins in Bohemia, in the parent country of Bijoux de Boheme and a skilled man who supplies good quality Czech goldpanning pins, but we certainly will take into account any reasonable offer. We are opening together another year. I wish we all could meet as we are used to, make our evening sessions advanced, perhaps change our "Hallo” and "How are you" into more open and personal chats breaking all the regional, national and state boundaries. I wish members of the Association were able to organize top quality meetings and competitions in accord with local history and interests. I wish they had enough power to develop new skills and joint knowledge on natural gold, nature and prospectors´ techniques, to publish our activities, and to attract more people who would appreciate what you, our members, are doing. What I would like to see, it is the progress of our contacts and networking between small local clubs, groups or single enthusiasts from different countries and continents, which can now accelerate thanks to the excellent work of creators of the new WGA´s internet page. Best wishes to all of you in 2002, good luck in competitions in your countries, in Switzerland and Japan From Veronika Stedra

A Rich ‘Paystreak’! The Treasurer’s Report

My friends, we are at last in a good financial position. We started this year (2001/02) with a strong positive cash balance, more so than at any time in the WGA’s history. Our work to reduce our costs and increase our income has brought us to the happy state where we are able to afford to do the work we want to do and still have a little money in the bank! I offer my sincere thanks to all of you who helped me when I was first appointed the WGA Treasurer. Working together, making our ideas on how to fairly raise income and reduce costs happen, has been a real pleasure and it is a mark of just what a good association of friends the WGA is. The figures are: Cash balance at the end of 2000/01 = $1752 (US) Plus fees received October 2001 = $1560 (US) Current balance at start 2001/02 = $3312 (US)

Vincent Thurkettle Treasurer

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Editorial It seems quite amazing that 4 months have already passed since we all met in Australia. We have decided to give up apologizing for late issues and publish when we can! In fact this one is due to you! Our goldpanning community have to send us something; otherwise Golden Times would be very short! After repeated calls to you from Pirjo, we finally have enough for an issue. Our thanks go out to those who do contribute and our encouragement to those who are thinking about sending an article. It is part of the delight of an international organization and magazine to have English translations that may not read as if from “The London Times”, but do remind you of the author as you read it. We will help you if you are nervous, go on have a go… Please send us pictures to go with an article when possible as this makes the article far more enjoyable. Either send scanned images in .jpg format or send us the pictures and we will return them. Our thanks go to all who allow us to use their pictures in Golden Times. This issue reports on the last Worlds and looks forward to the next, as well as events planned this year. As Veronica mentions in her article we are looking to develop a logo for the World Goldpanning Association, which could go on badges, letterheads or patches. Please have a think and send us your designs. We will decide what to use at the 2002 World Championships. The WGA web site worldgoldpanningassociation.org is growing with excellent skilled help from our Polish friends, please send articles or comments to us. This issue we even have a competition with a prize! Thank you for your support and look forward to seeing you in Japan if not before! Inkeri, Paul & Pirjo.

Special Thanks: - Golden Friendships: Image if you will, the bottom of a ski lift in northern Italy in February. The air is cold, the wind high and the snow good. Now place three goldpanning friends there and you have a discussion on the WGA and Golden Times. While waiting the hour for the lift to re-open Arturo, Vince and I discussed the world, goldpanning and Golden Times. Why could such a discussion take place? Because of the friendships created by our goldpanning communities. Arturo Ramella and his family opened their hearts and homes to us, made us welcome and fed us well. Many thanks Arturo! Paul

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2001 World Goldpanning Championships..

Thanks from Downunder In a year that was troubled by a World disaster in USA and the collapse of one of Australia's domestic airlines, we thank those who kept faith and made the journey downunder. What a golden reward for everyone and one of our competitors found a total of over 10 ozs in the bushland around Maryborough. Even the smaller nuggets greeted their finders with the emotions of surprise, excitement and gold fever. Gold fever - a universal language! Our bearded face of the goldfields Gerry got to pronounce most of the international names with a fair grasp of the native tongue. Thank you to all of you who have given us such a wonderful golden experience and treasured memories of the first ever Southern Hemisphere World gold panning championships. Our Committee joins with me in wishing everyone a golden new year and trust that we will meet once again in friendship

in Japan later this year.

Fred Olsson, Australian President

Some thoughts about World event in Australia

I have participated so far in five World Goldpanning Championships (Tankavaara 1993, Klondyke 1996, California 1998, Czech Rep 1999, Australia 2001) as well as tens of national championships since 1989 in Finland and Sweden. These experiences give already some kind of base in order to give an opinion for the 2001 event. We arrived to Maryborough at the beginning of the championships week and together with all Finnish competitors we rushed immediately to the registration office as soon as it was opened. I have to admit that already then the first scepticism thoughts crossed to my mind. It seemed that at the office they haven't prepared at all for the registration - at least not for as much competitors than there were when Finnish came. The situation badly slipped out of organizer's hands. My impression was that everything was handled by the voluntary work of one family. However, after all everyone manage to register and got the competitor badges etc. Regarding the competition itself it felt that organizing was done like a 'village competition level'. Starting lists and schedule were informed not until the same morning. So

every competitor had to come to competition site early in the morning in order to find out when will be his/her turn. I just wonder why that information was not given the previous evening at the notice board. There were many mistakes in the starting lists and people had to wait for results far too long. However, this improved everyday and for example the results of the finals were in time. Also it seemed that advertising and marketing hasn't had too successful since there weren't audience almost at all. In the other hand the weather was not favourable when it was raining almost every day. As a general picture, I found that the organizers has attended to matters carefully but maybe not sturdy enough. Maybe there were not enough staff and the budget was too small. Only medals and brass plates were given as prizes compared to other championships where gold as well as other items. For example in Finland the prizes are much more valuable even at the local competitions. On the other hand, you can't ever understate the value of a medal of World Championship standing.

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Even if Maryborough is an important part of gold history of Australia, I thought that maybe some other towns like Ballarat and Bendigo might have been better for the purpose; probably there would have been more audience and maybe marketing would have been more effective. However, one should not always try to find only negative matters since as a whole the championships were successful and a enjoyable event. It really was nice to meet friends around the world and the cordial and sociable life style of Aussies felt positively everywhere. Especially, I remember the announcer who was an excellent 'competition logo'. The competition site itself worked very well as well as the services of surrounding tents. There was an atmosphere of gaiety; one reason was mutual competing between Finnish and Swedish as well in the pool as in the

stand. Also the merrymaking of South African team after the decision of 2005 host country was great to watch. One was not able to avoid noticing the worthy Japan ladies and gentlemen with white coats. I believe that everybody remembers very well, the wonderful evening of presentation for 2002. Also there very many people interested in to participate the yurita school. Now championships in Australia are over and we are looking for Japan. Hopefully, everything goes smoothly and efficiency there, as I suppose. Finally one fancy; what if there haven't had Finnish and Swedish teams in Maryborough, it would have been quite 'stub championships' After all, Australia was really great experience. Raimo Repola

Competitor - Finland

Is Australia on or off? The question kept popping up on emails or phone conversations, would my air ticket be for gold panning or a holiday? The word from Australia was it’s on! Finally after many years of the “Olsons” and an ever-changing support team promoting the delights of “down under” I was off. Australia was better than imagined, from singing with Jerry at Sovereign Hill to singing with Jerry around the camp fire, the week proved exciting, disappointing and fun all at the same time. Considering the size of the hosting team, the effort required and the obstacles presented to them I think they did a good job and 2001 will go down as one of my fondly remembered championships. Some lessons have been learned, technology and goldpanning don’t mix to well, the bar code idea for competitors sounded great but proved difficult to implement. The use of the International Jury as pool monitors and bucket collectors was not

as originally planned, but it proved the friendship and good nature of our community. Thanks should be given to Ken, Mick, Koos, Veronika & Celcile for their never ending help in running the events. The fact they could help and were not in protest sessions all the time was an example of a well run championship. The competition, camping and hotels were as good as possible, close together and easy to get around. The weather as all World Goldpanning competitors should know would rain and be cold (remember Scotland (gale force winds and rain), France - St. Pardoux (lake flooding), Czech Rep (mud). I also never knew the Swedes could sing so well! They gave the Finnish some serious competition in the seating area as well as in the pools! For once, my brother and I were not competing to get on television, as there were no cameras or press to attract. Perhaps it is the Australian way that nothing seems unusual to them, even 400 strangely dressed foreigners. At customs in Melbourne Airport , the inspector seemed unfazed at my telling her to expect lots of goldpans and strangely dressed people to come through her line. I have now detected in the outback (Pirjo, found the best nugget!), seen Kangaroos and Dingos ridden “shotgun” on a stagecoach and enjoyed a “tube of fosters” with good friends. Well done Australia.. Paul Thurkettle

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2001 World Goldpanning Championships Results:

National Team (19) 1. Australia 28.48 (-2) 2. Finland 30.25 (-3) 3. France 32.01 (-2) 4. Great Britain 34.48 (-2) 5. Poland 35.50 (-3) Men Skilled (11) 1. Ken Karlsson, SWE 1.59 2. Raimo Repola, FIN 2.11 3. Jari Mäenpää, FIN 2.31 4. René Rollier, CHE 2.53 5. Pentti Hongisto, FIN 3.39 Women Skilled (9) 1. Marjatta Kannisto, FIN 2.23 2. Ulla Kalander-Karlsson, SWE 2.25 3. Birgitta Larsson, SWE 2.51 4. Lena Sjolin, SWE 3.15 5. Margareta Soderlund, SWE 3.27 Veterans (9) 1. Mike Sutton, USA 2.33 2. Lea Rekilä, SWE 2.37 3. Pierre Mandrick, FRA 2.47 4. Anita Patala, FIN 2.54 5. Anneli Bergström, SWE 3.17 Youth (7) 1. Hanna Wasilewicz, POL 3.35 2. Amore Schmidt, ZAF 6.14 3. Nikki Cookson, NZL 6.51

4. Danielle McKay, AUS 9.15 (-1) 5. Johnny Reinders, ZAF 10.19 (-1) Beginner Women (8) 1. Pirkko Mäenpää, FIN 4.29 2. Monika Oujeska, CZE 5.14 3. Lena Lundgren, SWE 6.10 4. Arja Repola, FIN 7.23 5. Joy Wright, AUS 7.41 Beginner Men (6) 1. John Reinders, ZAF 2.49 2. Mattias Kroon, SWE 3.21 3. Pekka Patokallio, FIN 3.32 4. Lasse Roos, FIN 3.43 5. Milan Scmidek, CZE 4.30 Children (7) 1. Emma Heathcock, AUS 11.34 2. Racher Millar, CAN 15.07 3. Kane Heathcock, AUS 19.13 (-1) 4. Samantha Ashfield, AUS 19.47 5. Katrina Vosper, AUS 23.13 (-2)

Golden Pair Results

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Opening Parade Flag Bearers

Ken Karlsson Collecting Buckets for the National Competition

Gerry Counting Gold Chips

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Competition Area

Thanks to Iwona Rygielska for permission to use her photo’s.

FROM GOLDPANNERS WIFE TO GOLDPANNER “At that moment I became a goldpanner, not a wife”

As the new wife of the President of the British Goldpanning Association, I have spent two years

learning, absorbing, understanding and being fascinated by the golden world I have entered into since my marriage. So the idea of three weeks in Australia for the World Goldpanning Championships while my husband did “his own thing” sounded like a brilliant idea. It was to be the honeymoon we didn’t have after our gold panning wedding in Leadhills, Scotland in 1999. I dreamed of soaking up the sun and relaxing at the championship site, reading a bit and having a well-earned rest. In three weeks my short fingernails would get a rest from work and have a chance to grow and strengthen and I would have the time to apply nail varnish for a change. This is my diary of the trip. We flew out from Heathrow on Sunday 14 October and arrived in Sydney on Tuesday 16 October. (I don’t know what happened to Monday!!!! We had lost that somewhere) We

queued at immigration to declare my 20 boxes of Yorkshire tea, which I had brought as gifts for our friends. The soles of our shoes were examined for Foot and Mouth germs and I think I must have found the only Australian without a sense of humour when my comment to him of….”The nearest my husbands boots get to any sort of old cow is when I’m bending over the river in Leadhills and he can’t resist the temptation…” fell on deaf ears and his facial muscles didn’t move a centimetre! At Sydney airport as we waited to pass through customs, I noticed a colourful character three queues away pushing a trolley. He was dressed in a bright shirt, waistcoat, and hat with many badges and looked like…yes you guessed… a Goldpanner. So, surrounded by seasoned travellers two rather eccentric gentlemen grabbed hands and greeted each other across the barriers like long lost friends while the other passengers looked on in amazement. They excitedly shouted at each other “see ya in Maryborough mate” and went back to their respective check in queues. It certainly

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brightened the dull queuing time watching this interaction between two panners drawn to Australia by their common bond. When I asked Mick later who the other chap was he said he hadn’t a clue but he was going to Maryborough and that was all that mattered. We spent a few days with my godfather in the Sydney suburbs and had many a tour of the surrounding beauty spots like the Blue Mountains, the beautiful beaches and the Wildlife Park to see the animals. Saturday 20 October. We flew to Victoria and were collected at Melbourne Airport by Big John Dix and after a three hour drive arrived at our campsite in Marybourgh in the early evening, tired and hungry only to find the cabin we had booked would not be available till the next day. We were offered two bunk beds in the bunkroom, sectioned off by plasterboard walls from the rest of the communal accommodation of kitchen, lounge, TV room and pool table. The toilet block was outside and my thoughts of a relaxing shower to get over my jet lag followed by a nice early night were vanishing before my eyes. I now had visions of an adventure-training trip and when I thought of my hubby and I squeezing into small bunk beds and making our many trips to the bathroom all night I decided to sleep fully clothed for convenience. As the temperature dropped that night anyway this proved to be a good idea. The South African party of 22 arrived and, if I thought it was cold, then they must have felt as though hypothermia had set in. They had left home where it was 40 degrees, travelled for 28 hours by plane and car and arrived in Australia to find the late spring weather was unusually colder than normal. They must have thought they’d misread the map and ended up in the Antarctic by mistake! But as the campfire warmed up so did we and as talk turned to the heated debate of Detecting versus Panning even the air became warm! Sunday 21 October.. Maryborough did a roaring trade in quilts and blankets and the South Africans slowly stopped shivering. The day started warm and by 11.00 had become pleasant. This was to be the pattern we discovered, very cold to fairly warm in a short space of time. We moved across to our cabin after our night in the bunkroom and once unpacked I sat on the veranda and realised that the location of our cabin made us strategically the calling in and

out place for everyone walking round the campsite. We were en route for the championship site and there was always to be an international gathering on the veranda.

We had a walk round Maryborough and noticed that many of the shops had three foot dolls dressed in trousers, boots, hat and holding a tiny goldpan in the windows. They represented some of the countries, which would be taking part in the championships, and our UK one was named Miner Mick after my esteemed husband. Vince and Paul Thurkettle arrived and we all sat on the veranda talking strategies and rules and other panning topics before meeting other early arrivals at the Stately House Hotel in town. Monday 22 October. The Dallas’s (Yvonne and Peter) arrived fresh from their medal success in Ballarat at the local championships with high hopes of a medal or two at Marlborough. They had set out from England in August and reached Maryborough on 22 October. It only took us three days to get here, so we joked that they must have taken the wrong turning at some traffic lights. However, in later conversations, this proved to be exactly the case as Yvonne admitted that map reading was not her strong point and it took 600 Kilometres for her to realise they had gone the wrong way, one dirt road in the bush looks much like any other! But they had enjoyed their trip round Australia and planned to continue after the championships to arrive back in Scotland in the New Year. Other panners arrived and the veranda filled up with people from all nations who compared pan shapes, previous competitions and victories. I began to see the various styles and shapes of pans less as woks, salad bowls and breadboards and more as scientific works of art which can take that vital .5 of a second off in a competition. At this point, never having

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panned before, or ever wished to, I adopted my usual female role of tea and coffee maker. I just listened to the conversations around me while mentally planning the two weeks ahead with a little light shopping, sunbathing by the lake and making sandwiches and snacks to take to Mick as he practised and panned. Well- Ha Ha to me! The next conversation I heard was to change my life forever. “Haven’t you told her ?” I heard someone ask. “Not yet _ I need to find the right moment” Mick replied. “Told me what?” I demanded “well – er – um” Mick looked very nervous. He was looking round for help but none came forward “well you see dear….” (here we go I thought) “we need two females for the British team and we only have Yvonne so we thought that if we taught you how to pan then we can enter a National team” I felt my bottom jaw drop and my eyes pop out on stalks, my throat went dry and the thought of early divorce for unreasonable requests sprang to mind! After I started breathing again I said I would learn but couldn’t promise much as I felt I’d never had an aptitude for panning. Administration and score printing is more in my line. The weather was warmer, we were all relaxed and happy to be in Australia and the championship seemed a long way off. Yvonne was to be my personal trainer as there was less likelihood of more grounds for divorce that way. So we drank beer and moved to the fire in the centre of the campsite as the air cooled down in the evening. Loads of other panners were arriving throughout the day and there was a wonderful atmosphere everywhere. Tuesday 23 October.

We took advantage of the coach trip that was organised to Sovereign Hill at Ballarat. It started to rain as soon as we arrived but that didn’t stop us having a quick pan in the river. It was my first attempt at panning and I was thrilled to find a few pieces of colour in my pan (I’m even sounding like a panner now!)

It may be a seeded river but who cares, I found some! The clouds were heavy and the rain was miserable but the magic of Sovereign Hill will remain in my mind forever. It’s an open-air museum, or you could say historical park, situated in an early gold digging area. It portrays the way of life on the gold fields from 1851 (when gold was discovered) to 1861. Thousands of people came from all over the world during the period of 1851-55 to gather up the surface alluvial gold. They constructed elaborate pieces of mining machinery to separate the gold from the gravel of buried creeks, and built simple dwellings for shelter and warmth. The buildings and businesses of the townships are based on those, which grew in the late 1850’s to service the miners. There are shops, craftsmen working at their trades, schools where pupils wear the clothes of the period and coaches pulled by horse’s ride along the muddy streets. In the evening we had a meal at the United States Hotel (Main Street) Sovereign Hill and one of the highlights was Vince devising a “Hat Throwing On To The Peg” competition. Everyone had to put $2 into the pot and the winner took it all. The idea was to throw hats across the table to the hat rack and aim for the pegs on the wall. The play off was down to Paul Thurkettle, John Brooks and Mick with Mick eventually winning the kitty. It was suggested we form a “Hat on Peg” association with the first World Championship being held in Sovereign Hill. The evening ended with a spectacular sound and light show. This is a show with no live actors but the clever use of dramatic sound effects, pyrotechnics and lighting techniques really stirs the imagination. It tells the story of the Eureka Rebellion by miners against the authorities in 1854. Wednesday 24 October. The day started warm but rapidly became cooler and by evening was very wet and cold. I was getting used to wearing two or three layers of clothing and it was obvious that the vest tops, bikinis, shorts and suntan cream would not be coming out of the suitcase. My training to competition level standard continued with Yvonne patiently and calmly talking me through the reasons for panning - the necessity for washing - how many washes - how much shaking - when to dip and so on. My nail manicure was mentally cancelled as I dug my hands into stones and gravel and tried to understand why Mick fell about laughing when I asked if I could wear rubber gloves.

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At home these hands are not exposed to even house hold dust without gloves and here I was thrusting my hands into a pan full of wet gritty muck ! After an hour or so of intense training, I couldn’t imagine ever being able to pan. That evening we had the Grand Parade. I have heard of these and seen the photos of Mick and his chums in various countries of the world dressed in colourful outfits and waving National Flags. So to actually take part is an overwhelming experience. John Brooks was our adopted member who just appeared at the beginning of the week. He had decided to browse the Internet for a holiday with a difference and had to choose between surfing and goldpanning. The sensible lad decided on panning and joined us in the parade carrying his native Salisbury Town (England) flag with pride. The countries gathered together ready for the parade as the black clouds gathered overhead so by the time we started off the rain was coming down sideways. Flags were blowing in all directions and hats were in danger of vanishing down Maryborough high street yet the atmosphere was wonderful. We may have only numbered seven from the UK but with Vince leading the singing of “Wild Rover” we sounded like seventy voices. We marched to the competition site where the marquees were all erected and the evening continued with the band featuring the very famous Gerry Tobin as star attraction. It was a good start to the competition and my own worries about competing were pushed further to the back of my mind with each can of beer! Thursday 25 October. At last the start of the 2001 World Championships dawned with the men’s qualifying heats. We cheered as Mick, Vince Peter and Paul qualified for the quarterfinals. Yvonne and I continued my crash course on panning and as I stood knee deep in yellow sandy water, shivering, I forgot my delicate finger nails and put every bit of energy into learning this skilful task. I took a break from training to walk into Maryborough to buy some jeans and warm tops and found the phrase “a quick trip to town” doesn’t apply in Maryborough. The minute I spoke to any shop assistant we would chat about where I had come from and they all love to talk about the Old Country. Everyone knows of someone who came from North Yorkshire and had tales to tell and questions to ask of our farms, rugged countryside, foot and mouth and mad cow disease. A short journey can take hours! Back at the championship site John Brooks did a brilliant first ever pan in the Men’s

Beginners. He and I are true beginners in as much as we’ve not panned before or even held one!!! He made it through to the final by coming 5th in 13.31 minutes with all his gold found. Yvonne continued with my training and tried to calm my nerves. I was entered into the Ladies beginners and the team event and was having great reservations about my sanity. I had started talking to every female with an English accent and asked if they could pan and would they be willing to help me out by taking my place in the British Team. But Husband stopped that idea by saying it was me in the team or no team at all. So I sulked and stamped my feet and started smoking again!! Any excuse and this was serious stuff. Me panning in a World event – me who always watches at the riverside and then goes back to our caravan and puts the heater on – me who always wears rubber gloves around the house. That evening at the World Goldpanning Association Council Meeting, the South Africans, led by Eugene Swanepoel, gave their presentation, and were awarded the 2005 World Championships to be held in Pilgrims Rest. There was so much interest in South Africa, about the bid, that a TV crew was situated in Pilgrims Rest waiting for a telephone call relaying the result from Australia. I did not think a call was required, from the volume of the cheer made by Obi, Jenna and the rest of the party when they heard the result I think Pilgrims Rest would have heard them without the use of a phone! We spent the rest of that evening round their campfire helping them to celebrate their achievement. Friday 26 October. Another cold wet day saw the men’s quarterfinals run with Mick and Vince going through to the semi-final. I managed a few practices in the river and I began to feel a lot more confident, but the thought of my debut in front of hundreds of people at a world event still filled me with dread. Everyone seemed to know what they were doing except me! The next event was called Snatch and Grab and I was very impressed as I watched Mick run round the troughs in this novelty competition. His light-footedness surprised everyone as he ran and grabbed a salad bowl from a selection on the grass, panned his material down in the shiny plastic container and came in first with eight pieces. I have watched him spend hours washing gold dust in a cereal bowl or panning flakes in a soup bowl over our kitchen sink, little realising what

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good grounding this was to be for panning in a salad bowl at a World Championships – and to win a Gold medal!!! I watched and learned from Mick and Vince’s performances and felt more confidant for my forthcoming heat until I went into the practice trough and promptly forgot everything I’d been taught. Our cabin continued to be the meeting point for everyone walking by and party spirits were high. That evening we all went to the school hall in Maryborough where our friends from Japan provided a splendid feast of roast beef and beer. They are happily welcoming us to Hamatombetsu for the World Championships in 2002. We danced to a jazz band and a great evening was had by all. I even forgot about the torture that my hands went through every time I plunged them into the river. Once again we rounded the evening off sitting round the campfire well into the early hours of the morning. Saturday 27 October This was to be the day of my heat and I woke up with anticipation and excitement and then I found out that my agony was to be prolonged because the Ladies beginners was going straight to a final on Sunday. So it was back to my training programme ….. Wash Wash Wash…. Shake Shake Shake…Tip Tip Tip….shake two three…tip two three. I walked round chanting to myself and doing procedures in my mind. So to any one who saw me jogging round the lake in early morning singing “ Shake two three, tip two three, Wash Wash Wash” I assure them I wasn’t suffering from heat stroke! Everyone seemed so confident and there was me, I’d never even lifted a bucket. That evening over 300 panners met for the championship dinner dance but with only 150 seats inside the marquee our group and others spent the evening outside. In true goldpanning spirit and full of Australian spirit we made the best of it and had a good evening. I went to bed counting “shake for ten, wash two three…” Sunday 28 October The day was sunny and bright and started before 5.00 am for some with a live radio show featuring Australia’s Number 1 DJ a fellow called Macca. He travels round Australia and does a road show from various locations on Sunday mornings. He certainly put Maryborough on the map and several panners were interviewed live on radio.

The last day is always finals day when all the finals are contested, these included the Open Teams, Men’s and Ladies Beginners, Juniors and Children’s, National Teams and lastly the Ladies and Men’s skilled. My nerves went into overdrive as I waited for the ladies beginners scheduled for 10.00am but as it was running an hour late by the time I was bibbed and bottled I had legs of jelly and an empty brain. The next 10 minutes remain forever in my memory. I remember tipping the sand into my pan four times and panning down as I had been taught by the ever patient Mrs Dallas. I remember hearing the elapsed minutes being called out. I remember after six minutes how my heart leapt into my mouth when I saw 5 pieces of gold smiling happily at me from the side of my pan. I remember bottling them checking the pan and leaping up in the air with a scream. Every moment etched on my mind forever. I know everyone has a “first time” but the excitement I felt as I shouted and held my bottle in the air was the most exhilarating of my life. At that moment I became a goldpanner, not a wife, an observer or a score keeper but a genuine competing panner at a World Championship. I came 17 out of 28 in 8.01 minutes, found 5 and lost 3 but to me that was brilliant. By the time the British team of Vince, Peter, Mick, Yvonne, and myself took our places I was excited and fit to burst. We came 4th and thinking back to the conversation on our veranda way back on 24 October (was it really six days ago?) this amazing experience has really changed my life for ever.

The dolls, which were situated in the shop windows of Maryborough, were all brought to the competition site and auctioned. Mick made a bid for his namesake Miner Mick and secured his future by buying him. As Miner Mick crouched in our cabin it did cross my mind that we were overweight on our luggage and here was a three foot high metal doll fixed in a permanent crouching position grinning at us and expecting to be carried 12,000 miles round the world back to Britain. We decided

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that he would go excess baggage and live at the museum in Wanlockhead in Scotland as the mascot for the British goldpanning championships, which we hold the last weekend in May. We stayed on in Maryborough for a few days and had time to visit old friends like Henry and Annie Doran, Annie Constable, and some friends of a relative. We did a bit of bush detecting with Henry and Mick and Peter did some detecting of their own. Mick found a 1.7 gram nugget on the track down Pigeons Gully and we were also invited to a BBQ at Fred and Gloria’s new house.

Many thanks to everyone who made our trip such a memorable experience. To Peter Kavanagh and Gerry Tobin, may the beer never stop flowing. To Wayne and Bruce, may the campsite fire never go out. To the South Africans, may your freshness and friendliness be a model for others to follow. To Fred and his team, may the memory of a full cheering stand last with you forever. To Big John, write your book and finally to the panners from around the world, thank you for being our friends. The Dallas’s moved off to continue their tour

of the outback and on the Thursday we were taken back to Melbourne by John Dix for our flight to Sydney. If you are going to spend 3 hours in a car with anyone I strongly

recommend big John, his tales of life as a cop could be made into a film. It was sad to say farewell to all our friends in Maryborough as we flew back to Sydney with miner Mick wrapped in a black bin bag. In Sydney we stayed in a first class hotel, very close to the Opera house / Sydney Harbour Bridge and spent the following morning marvelling at the sights of Sydney. We were trying to forget the flight back home but we did find the day we lost on the journey out. We took off at 1600 Friday evening and arrived in Britain at 0530 Saturday morning, out in three days, home in thirteen hours. The wonders of modern travel.

South African Gold Panning Championships – 2001 When we arrived back from Australia, jet lagged, overjoyed at securing the bid for 2005 World Gold Panning

Championships, we awoke to the realisation that our National Championships were around the corner. A mountain of work faced the organisers despite the fact that most of the basics had been attended to during our absence. Typically everybody rallied around and the bits and pieces were organised, arranged and put into place. Due to the fact that we were successful in our bid for the 2005 World Championships there was an increased interest from the media and participants which had us scurrying around even more. Enquiries came from all over South Africa and the excitement grew by the

day. Talk around town was all about gold panning and gold panning techniques. The event started with a mineral market on the 28 November and was officially opened on the 29 November. The Gold symposium was well attended with some eminent and knowledgeable speakers on the South African Gold History.

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Excitement mounted late on Friday afternoon as the teams prepared for the annual and exhausting, I may add, Alex “Wheelbarrow” Patterson memorial wheelbarrow race. This year the Museum Team made no mistake to ensure the race. The Diggers Pub Crawl that followed attracted a lot of interest, but as in the past most visitors just could not keep up with the local fraternity. Perhaps practice makes perfect as they say. It must be said that this activity may have had an influence on the next day as some competitors seemed to pan exceptionally well, something to do with shaking I suppose. Saturday saw the championships starting in all earnest. As usual we started of with the “Pikkies” competition, which is for children under six years of age. What a delight to see the little ones searching for their nuggets with exuberance. This certainly creates a breeding ground for future World Champions. This year there was an increase of 47% in participants with almost three hundred panners

competing, representing all the provinces of South Africa as well as competitors from Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, British West Indies and North Rhine Westphalia. This bodes well for the future of gold panning in South Africa. The evening was concluded with the ever popular Diggers Dance and a great time was had by all.

Sunday morning dawned with great expectation and trepidation, finals day. Friendly rivalry abounded, however as with all finals the butterflies were around. The weather for the first time was not part of the equation. Despite the abnormal high rainfall and the competition area being flooded a week before the championships another successful event was staged.

The results of the Championships were as follows: Proficient Men

1. MIKE GOODWIN

2. TAMAS GYORI 3. EUGENE SWANEPOEL Proficient Ladies 1. SHERRY GOODWIN 2. MARLENE STUART 3. YOLANDI SCHMIDT Juniors under 16 1. AMORE SCHMIDT 2. KIERRYN GOODWIN 3. JOHN REINDERS Jr Beginners Ladies 1. JOYCE MASHEGO 2. PRUDENCE MASHEGO 3. JOYCE CHILOANE Beginners Men

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1. JAN ROODT 2. SHAUN-T PRINGLE 3. ARJEN VAN ZWIETEN 4. Veterans 1. JOHN REINDERS SNR 2. JAN HATTINGH 3. LINA VENTER Pikkies

1. MIA SCHULTZ 2. DARREL VAN NIEKERK 3. CAROL MUNRO Provincial Team 1. MPUMALANGA 2001B 2. MPUMALANGA 2001 3. MPUMALANGA 2000

Mike and Sherry Goodwin won the grand prizes, air tickets to the 2002 World Championships in Japan, for the all over best times

NEWS FROM POLAND Golden Mountain Goldpanning Championships ‘2001 40 prospectors from Poland took part in The 4th Golden Mountain Goldpanning Championships.

The opening ceremony began in the town market place. Competition (one day) took place near to the “Czarna” (“Black”) gold mine, in a big quarry. The organisers were: Polish Goldpanning Centre, Goldcentrum.pl, Town Hall of Zloty Stok and “PUT Gold Mine” Results JUNIORS (6): 1. Katarzyna Maciejak (3:10), 2. Jan Klepak (7,29), 3. Mateusz Gołek (11,47) Amateurs (5): 1. Agata Świerk (5:16), 2. Paweł Albrycht (6:41), 3. Bartosz Rodzeń (8,55) PROFI (12): 1. Wiesław Choragwicki (2:58), 2. Ryszard Wisiński (3:09); 3. Tadeusz Wasilewicz (4:07) The next Golden Mountain Goldpanning Championshipswill be on 2nd of June 2002.

The competitions take place in an old quarry (Ph. Krzysztof Maciejak)

The history of Zloty Stok (eng. Golden Slope), SW Poland, is closely connected with mining of gold and arsenic in Lower Silesia. Excavating these ores has over a hundred year long tradition. In the course of research works conducted in the beginning of this century at the outlet of a quarry Zloty Jar, old mining casings displaying characteristics of constructions used in the former century were found. The first historical document mentioning the existens of the settlement and mining works in the surroundings of Zloty Stok goes back to 1273. Zloty Stok originated as a typical mining town, without any fortifications or defence walls. Through the centuries the gold mining was experiencing frequent up-and-downs. Just before 1961, when gold exploitation was finally abandoned, gold was only recovered as a by-product of arsenic ore processing in Zloty Stok. Underground "Museum of Gold Mining and Metallurgy - "Gold Mine" in Zloty Stok Visitors are encouraged to see a collection of souvenirs associated with the ten centuries long history of gold

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mining in Zloty Stok. Exhibits are arranged in the old mine. "Gertruda" drift - 500 meters of galleries with a museum exhibition showing: - a collection (45 exhibits) of unique maps and plans of mines coming from the period starting from the second half of the 18th century to the first halt to the 20th century, - melting pots and forms for gold casting used in the local works, - laboratory instruments from the first half of the 20th century and reagents used for examining are samples, - mining tools from 16th, 17th and 18th centuries found in old workings, - wooden cars used for underground transporting the out put, - a rich collection (approx. 300 exhibits) of minerals occurring in the Sudety mountains. - "Czarna" ("Black") drift - a route with the length of approx. 200 meters leading along 17th century hand-hewn galleries leads to unique phenomenon, an 8 meters high underground waterfall. Other photos available at: http://www.goldcentrum.pl/galeria_goldcentrum/4.php3 Town of Zloty Stok: www.zlotystok.gad.pl e-mail: info@goldcentrum.pl Krzysztof Maciejak 1st Karkonosze Mountain Goldpanning Championships 50 prospectors from Poland and Czech Rep. took part in The 1st Karkonosze Mountain Goldpanning Championships of the Western City Sheriff's Silver Colt. Western City is the biggest “Wild West” town in Poland, placed in the shadow of Giant Mountains (Sniezka, 1602 meters). The additional events were: bank job shows, goldpanning school, country music, bull riding and many others. The prize – silver colt, founded by sheriff Jerzy Pokoj – was won by Zdzislaw Augustyn.

Results: JUNIORS (9): 1.Hanna Wasilewicz (2:46), 2. Katarzyna Rodzeń (4:40), 3. Tomasz Wisiński (7:09), Amateurs (8): 1. Wojciech Przynoga (8:10), 2. Teresa Daniel (8:55), 3. Michał Nadowski (8:56), PROFI (9): 1. Zdzisław Augustyn (3:05), 2. Wacław Sieradzki (6:46), 3. Andrzej Sielecki (7:00), TRIATHLON: 1. BOART, 2. Wisinski Team. 2. Choragwicki Team. Information about the next championships in 2002: www.goldcentrum.pl/kalendarz/index.php3 Other photos available at:

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http://www.goldcentrum.pl/galeria_goldcentrum/4.php3 Western City: www.western.com.pl e-mail: info@goldcentrum.pl Krzysztof Maciejak Gold in Poland... 11000 websurfers from 25 countries – that’s the score noted by the biggest Polish “golden” website – Polish Goldpanning Centre (http://www.goldcentrum.pl). These pages are in two language versions – Polish and English – and contain many useful things about gold in Poland and other countries. We’re still building new sections in our menu, and adding new facts to the sites, with the help of our friends – goldprospectors and associations. You can find positions like history of prospecting, championships, gold mining, literature, minerals, links etc, while visiting the sites. We are also creating a photo gallery on goldcentrum.pl. There’re about 200 photos in this section – from Goldkronach 1998/2000 Coloma 1998, Hodrusa-Hamre 1998, Zlate Hory 2001, Western City 2001 and other places. Through the medium of Golden Times, we ask you for sending links, news and information to our sites. Krzysztof Maciejak & crew of goldcentrum.pl info@goldcentrum.pl www.goldcentrum.pl Nugget from Poland

In 2001, near to Zlotoryja, in SW Poland, about 4gram gold nugget was found. It’s one of the biggest known specimens from this country. Gold nugget from Skora River (Ph. Krzysztof Maciejak) Krzysztof Maciejak

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2002 World Goldpanning Championships – Japan

Japan hosts the 2002 World Goldpanning Championships. Information on Hamatombetsu and a quick guide are given below. We hope to see you in our country .

World Goldpanning Championships Japan Executive committee head.

Noboru Ichikawa Town Snapshot *Hamatombetsu Town is located in the northern part of Hokkaido. * Population is about 5000. * Main industries are dairy farming and fishing. Weather in August Summer begins when the Okhotsk high-pressure system carries fresh sea breezes to the fields. Beniya Natural Flower Garden is filled with over 100 kinds of wild flowers. Hamatombetsu average temperature usually reaches 18*C on most days in summer. Currency Pricing in Japan is in yen. Denominations are in 1 yen, 5 yen, 10 yen, 50 yen, 100 yen, 500yen, 1,000 yen, 2,000 yen, 5,000 yen and 10,000 yen. The exchange rate is currently $1US = \125 Our currency floats on the international foreign exchange market so the value changes daily. Credit cards can be used in some stores in Hamatombetsu. Expenses Some indications of approximate costs: 1-liter milk 220 yen Sliced bread 180 yen Canned beer 270 yen 1.5-liter mineral water 300 yen Ramen/soba noodles 600 yen Camping Kutcharo Lakeside Camp Site There is a campground on the lake shore, with barbeque pits available for use, as well as a center house, a kitchen, flush toilets, a store and a laundromat. An overnight stay costs 200 yen for adults and 100 yen for children, and four-man tents are available for 1,500 yen a night. Water The tap water can be drunk directly. Web Site http://www.eolas-net.ne.jp/hokkaido/hamatonbetsu/index.htm You can apply for participation the Japanese convention from the Website above.

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Getting there There are various ways of getting to Hamatombetsu. By Car Sapporo to Hamatombetsu is 328 kilometers, and takes about five and a half hours. Route 12 runs from Sapporo to Asahikawa, then Route 40 to Otoineppu, and Route 275 to Hamatombetsu. Alternatively, the Expressway can be taken from Sapporo to Watusame, and then Route 40 to Otoineppu and Route 275 to Hamatombetsu. A third option is to take Route 275 from Sapporo all the way to Hamatombetsu. This is a slightly longer route but is a very beautiful drive. By Plane From Tokyo, it takes one and a half hours to fly to Wakkanai, and there are two flights a day during summer. By Train The nearest train station is Otoineppu, and Sapporo to Otoineppu takes about three hours. E-mail: hamaton@eolas-net.ne.jp The Hamatombetsu vicinity: Lake Kutcharo Lake Kutcharo: Lake Kutcharo is a permanent freshwater lake located about 1 kilometer from the town of Hamatombetsu. It has a circumference of 27 kilometers, an area of 13.3 km2, an average depth of 1.5 meters, and is the northernmost lake in Japan. Lake Kutcharo is located in the center of the Kita Okhotsk Prefectural Natural Park. It is one of the rare water bird sanctuaries in Japan. Over 200 kinds of migratory birds and year round birds fly here to inhabit the wetlands around the lake. In the 43rd year of the Showa Era (1968), the Hokkaido Government designated the area a Wildlife Protection Area, meaning that all wildlife species in the area are protected, and hunting is forbidden.

Monday, August 26, 2002 Participant registration begins Excursion: Experience Goldpanning using yuri-ita boards at the Usotan and Pechan Rivers. [free] Excursion: Tour of the historical site of the Usotan goldpanning era [free] Tuesday, August 27, 2002 Participant registration continues Excursion: Experience Goldpanning using yuri-ita boards at the Usotan and Pechan Rivers. [free] Excursion: Alluvial Gold and Platinum Symposium Wednesday ,August 28.2002 Participant registration ends at noon Goldpanning Practice Area opens for use

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International Parade [afternoon] Opening Ceremony for 2002 World Goldpanning Championships Welcoming Reception hosted by Japan Thursday, August 29, 2002 Preliminaries for each class General Meeting of the WGA Friday, August 30, 2002 Preliminaries Team Competition [Open teams and National teams] Saturday, August 31, 2002 Semifinals Evening Dinner Party hosted by Switzerland [2003 World Goldpanning host country] Sunday, September 1, 2002 Final Awards Ceremony Fireworks & Farewell Party

EUROR 2002

EUROPEAN GOLDPANNING CHAMPIONSHIPS

St Yrieix La Perche (France) A Few words from the organising committee:

All the inhabitants of Saint Yrieix la Perche and of our department are very proud to welcome goldpanners of Europe in our country for this European Championships.

That’s important for us to thank the WGA for the trust he

gave us in Kocaba in 1999, we’ll try to propose you a fair competition, pleasant accommodations, and various animations and visits around the gold.

The last international championships had been very great and fine for the competitors, so the

level is high. That’s an important challenge for us to be at this level, we’ll do our best for it.

The organising committee

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Paris Poitiers

Location: Paris Saint Yrieix la Perche is a very dynamic small town in the south of Limousin, near the Perigord, well known for gastronomy. The town is a regular L Lyon

LIMOGES

Bordeaux Toulouse

Périgueux SAINT YRIEIX LA PERCHE

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organiser of national and international events in sport and music. Program: Out of the competitions (which will take place between Thursday and Monday), there’s some special events we want to present you The “Yukon race”: it will take place on Wednesday afternoon. That’s a competition which melt canoe on a small lake and goldpanning. “ All the competitor need to know swimming”. We tried it last year on a small trophy and all the competitors were very happy. The mineral exchange and sale market: It will take place on Wednesday too and it’s free for all the competitor (see the regulation on website www.aredius-net.com/euror ) The Nation Procession: It will take place in the town of St Yrieix, a drink will be give to the competitor by the mayor and the town council. We will be very happy if we may have a lot of typical costumes and traditional music instruments for the nations Complete program: MONDAY:“LIMOUSINE” DAY Visit in bus to Limoges, porcelain factory, artistic enamel workshop, artisanal distillery. Free goldpanning on 2 or 3 spots. TUESDAY:“PERIGORDINE” DAY Journey in Perigord, prehistoric sites, painted cave (with reserves), gastronomy. Free goldpanning on 2 or 3 spots WEDNESDAY: MINERALOGICAL DAY Mineral search at the Biard old antimony mine on the morning, mineral exchanges and sales, free nugget race, and yukon competition (goldpanning and canoe) in the afternoon at Ladignac le Long (10 km far from St Yrieix). Free goldpanning on 2 or 3 spots

THURSDAY: Morning, visit of St Yrieix town or travel on the old gold mines (personal cars). Beginning of the competition (no inscriptions after 14 h00 PM), At the end of the afternoon procession of the nations in St Yrieix la Perche, Inaugural cocktail. Limousine typical dinner in the evening FRIDAY : Competitions, animations on the site. Perigordine typical dinner in the evening SATURDAY: Competitions, animations on the site. Gala dinner in the evening SUNDAY: Finals in the morning, Animations on the site. Prize presentation in the beginning of afternoon

.Accommodations: We have a camping with hot showers just near the competition arena, but the number of emplacement is limited, so the reservations will be take in order (more or less 100 tents or camping cars). There’s another camping on the yukon race, nugget race and mineral market spot at ten kilometers with the same fees (2 euros by days and by person). As camping will open in June, camping reservation must be made to: Mr J.P. Frémont, Mairie de St Yrieix La Perche, 87500 St Yrieix La Perche

(please precise that it’s for goldpanning championship, number of tents, camping cars and persons)

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For the others accommodation, please contact St Yrieix Tourism Information Office who will proposed you hotels and bed and breakfast. 58 bd Hôtel de Ville 87500 St Yrieix La Perche, France (033) 05 55 08 20 72 fax : (033) 05 55 08 10 05 officetourisme.saint-yrieix@wanadoo.fr

Website :- More informations are and will available on the website : www.aredius-net.com/euror

Gold and St Yrieix la Perche country : A love story of 200 MA Serge NENERT (French Goldpanning Federation) The surrounding of St Yrieix La Perche, location of the 2002 European Championship is one of the most complete site for historic gold exploitations in Europe. Geological settings: The gold veins of the district occur in metamorphic and granitic rocks related to the hercynian orogeny. Gold is present in quartz veins with various sizes and orientations.

- the richest in free gold are often few centimetres large and in various trending. -the most interesting for modern exploitation are to be found in big faults (NE-SW

trending, 10 kms long). The mineralization is in quartz lenses from 6g/t to 30-40g/t, sometimes on the main fault, sometimes on associated faults. In some lenses (“Puits Roux” at Laurieras mine), free gold may be common with gold content of few hundred grams by ton on a few centimeters. Except quartz, the others minerals are for a large part arsenopyrite and pyrite and less for a minor part, sphalerite, galena, stibnite and Pb-Sb sulfosalts History of the district As a lot of European districts, St Yrieix and all the limousin Country has a very long history in gold researches and exploitation. It’s began during the celtic time and finished in June 2001. The celtic time: Celtic people mined the free gold vein in many open pit, the so call “aurières”(more than 2000 all over the country). This activity seems to have stopped before the roman conquest. The modern open pits had allowed archeological works to progress and to increase our knowledge on exploitation and life of the celtic miners. Two periods must be distinguished:

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The 3rd and 4th century BC: The mines were small open pits few meters deep and trenches with underground works. The miners lived on the site (houses remains and weaving tools had been found). Gold recovery was performed by crushing ore and washing in canals. Between the 2nd century and the roman conquest. The archeological works show that the mines were very well organised. The open pits were very large (more than 100 meters long and 10 meters deep with a lot of very competent miners. When the open pit was too deep, the miners made underground working which can be 30 m deep. Working out were well timbered. The water was evacuated by “exhaure” drift. The ore was crushed, sometimes roasted, but the function of roasting is not sure at all, weaken the quartz or enhance a refractory ore. Miners didn’t live on the site.

We have no reliable information on celtic goldpanning but it is probable. Though clues of early middle age re-opening were found, the mining use of the “aurieres” had been forgotten for 2000 years. Beginning of the 19th century, the re-discovery of limousin gold: The most important person of this story is a geologist, E. Mallard who recognised mining works in the “aurieres”. After his work, a little “gold rush” occurred. The owners of aurieres

drilled shafts to search for the gold lodes. 45 research permits were given but only 5 mines were really operated with a production of 8 tons of gold but 7.5 tons for “Cheni Mine” only.

1982-2001: the recent exploitation:

« Pierre » shaft at Cheni-Douillac mine, it was the most important of this mine (Courtesy of P.C. Guiollard)

Exhaure drift entrance at Fouilloux celtic mine (Courtesy of B. Cauuet)

Up:Free gold at F1 vein (Cros Gallet Mine) (Courtesy of P.C. Guiollard) Right: Free gold vein at Cheni mill Mine (Photo S. Nenert)

From 1959 to 1982 research works were done on the Bourneix structure in the east of the district. In 1982, the Cros Gallet mine opened and the Bourneix ore dressing factory was operated. In 1986, in the center of the district the Laurieras drift was bored. In 1988, the “Bourneix Mines Society” subsidiary of “COGEMA” was created and bought the mines. That’s a period of increasing activity. Extensive research were done, several open-pit were

Modern open pit at Clovis on Laurieras mine, in the background tailings and remains of the celtic open pit (photo S. Nenert)

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operated, underground mining were performed by drifts on the historical sites of Cros Gallet and Laurièras but also on Masvieux, Fau Marié and Cheni mill, the factory was extended and the production was of 2 tons of gold by year from 1992 to 1996. The gold price falling and exhaustion of the lodes lead to stop the exploitation in June 2001. The last years production was of 25 tons of gold.

Up:Machine in underground works (Laurieras Mine) . Courtesy of P.C. Guiollard Down: Drilling in “Longues Mines” zone at Laurieras. Courtesy of P.C. Guiollard

Internet link to know something else on limousin celtic mine (in french but with very interesting photos of archeological works): http://www.limousin-culture.asso.fr/kiosque/orgaulois/index.htm

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Jack London – the author of the gold fields

Jack London is one of the most famous authors of his days who is especially well known for his novels about the gold fields of Klondike. Last year 125 years had elapsed since his birth. John Griffith London (1876-1916) was born in San Francisco as the son of wealthy, unmarried Flora Wellman. His father is believed to be William Cheney, journalist, lawyer and a notable person engaged in the development of astrology in the United States. While Flora was a

sickly person, Virginia Prentiss, a former slave brought up John. In 1876 Flora married John London, a slightly crippled veteran of the civil war. The family moved from one place to another in the Francisco Bay area before settling down to Oakland where Jack completed hid elementary education. Although this family belonged to the working class, they did not suffer poverty, as it is commonly believed. During his adolescence Jack had several jobs of hard physical nature before returning to high school at the age of 19. During those working years he became familiar with socialism and was known as the socialist kid of Oakland through his street-corner speeches. Several times he ran for the office of the Mayor from the ranks of socialists but he never succeeded. As an eager and enthusiast reader his goal was to become a writer in order to escape the uninviting future as a factory worker. He studied other writers and offered his own stories and poems to local publications without any considerable success.

Publicity from the gold fields The turning point in Jack’s career was his journey to the gold fields of Klondike where he filled his stories with metaphorical gold. He set off for Klondike on the 25th of July in 1897 together with his brother in law, sea captain Shepard. His companion was fed up with the difficulties they encountered after only two days of travel, so Jack continued on his own with a load 1000 kilos of supplies such as food, mining equipment, clothes and a tent and a stove. After months of prospecting he

finally staked a claim at Henderson Creek in November. During the winter he became a beloved character among other gold miners due to his skill to tell interesting stories. Next March Jack, together with a number of other miners suffered from scurvy, the plague of the isolated gold fields due to lack of fresh fruits and vegetables. While the Yukon was frozen the arrival of medical help was delayed. Finally, when the help arrived, Jack was already in such a poor condition that he had to return home. The months on the gold fields, however, were the source of numerous stories, which were published in Overland Monthly in 1899. By that time he had become a disciplined author who wrote at the pace of at least 1000 words per day. It was his novel “Call of the Wild” (1903) that brought him into pubic notice and gradually he became a famous and well-off author. His total production consists of 51 novels and hundreds of articles in newspapers and magazines.

Colourful history Jack London ranked among the best-known persons of his days. He used this position to bring forward his views about socialism, women’s right to vote and prohibition. He was among the first authors to work in the film business and to see several of his novels to become movies. His novel “Sea wolf” was the basis for the manuscript of the first full-length American film. He was also one of the first to make good use of his personal position in promoting these commercial products. Farming was close to Jack London’s heart and later he often made his ranch in California the scene of his stories. London’s first wife was Bess Maddern, who gave him two daughters. According to the guidelines of his novels, London chose his wife for the purpose of breeding, not because of love and his wife agreed to this. This marriage was ruined after Jack met Charmian Kittredgen. She became the paragon of several female characters in London’s

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literature. They were married and travelled together to various parts of the world. Jack London lost his health at the age of 30 and he died of kidney malfunction when he was only 40 years old. His works have been translated into several languages and his production is loved and read all over the world. I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dryrot.

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my Days in trying to Prolong them. I shall use my time. Jack London 1876-1916

Golden history of Ghana SMALL SCALE MINING IN THE RAINFOREST (All pictures from the Mineral Commission Ghana) The Geological Survey of Finland is one of the most important and remarkable co-operators and supporters of the Gold Museum in Tankavaara,

Finland. Recently they created and set up an interesting exhibition about the gold history in Ghana in the international part of the museum. The following information based on the exhibition: Ghana - Gold Coast

Ghana lies in Africa and has an area of 238, 535 square kilometres; it is about the same size as the British Isles. Ghana has a typical tropical climate and altitude is generally below 500 metres with more than half of the country below 200 metres. Country's population is estimated at 19 millions, with English as the official language. However, there are numerous ethnic clans and language subgroups. Over half of the people are subsistence farmers. The first European contacts

with the country were the Portuguese navigators in the last quarter of the 15th Century. These and other sailors from the Netherlands, Denmark and England subsequently engaged in a lucrative export trade in gold supplied to them by the local inhabitants. Ghana earlier known as the Gold Coast has a long gold history. Ghana has been renowned as the gold coast for 2,000 years. From the middle of the 15th century the Gold Coast of West Africa (now known as Ghana) became an important source of gold, providing perhaps 5-8 tonnes per year. In the 1990s its mining industry is undergoing a major revival, which has quadrupled output to over 50 tonnes annually. The oldest mine, Ashanti mine, is still open and it celebrated its centenary in 1997. Today, worldwide production amounts to about 2,300 tonnes annually. Although gold is mined in almost sixty countries, the Ghana is still one of the major gold producers. Ashanti Empire

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Ghana's rich history centres on the once-great Ashanti Empire, which rose to power during the late 17th century and continued to prosper as a centre of the 18th century slave trade. The Ashanti capital, Kumasi, was during this period one of the finest and most advanced cities in Africa, and the Ashanti state even employed significant numbers of Europeans as advisors and administrators. The European presence in Ghana is also marked by the multitude of colonial forts that do its coastline - strongholds that anchored the European trade in gold, ivory, and slaves. Although Ghana, then known as the Gold Coast, was largely considered a British territory by the latter half of the 19th century, it wasn't until 1900 that the British succeeded in defeating the Ashanti and the area's other strong kingdoms.

Alluvial gold fields Alluvial gold has been found from several rivers in the southwest part of Ghana. Main alluvial gold fields are situated along Birim River, Pra River, Offin River, Ankabra River, Bonsa River and Tano River. Some main mining companies are also working with alluvial gold. Tarkwa, Dunkwa and Obuasi are big mining towns. Gold panning is possible to do during the dry season. During the rainy season flooding makes panning dangerous to continue. The floods are useful because

they transport new gold from the riverbanks. Hard and light tropical wood is good source of useful panning tools. Otherwise gold panning methods are similar as everywhere in the world. Small-scale mining Small-scale mining (legal) and artesian mining (illegal) are employing nearly 100,000 people in Ghana and several millions all around in the developing countries. The boom in small-scale mining started in late 1980's. The estimated output of small-scale (and artesian) mining has increased from 35 tonnes/year to 65 tonnes/year between 1986 and 1995 in Sub-Saharan Africa. The methods in use in deep in the jungle are the combination of very old traditional methods and new modern ones. Small-scale gold output is in Ghana e.g. 4 tonnes annually. The value of gold is e.g. 37 millions USD. The amount of valid small-scale mining license holders is approximately 500.

The environmental effects of small-scale and artesian mining are usually quite limited. When the gold is not all alluvial (i.e. gold is still in the original rock) could

the environmental effects be significant. Especially when mercury is used to get also finer particles of gold the process could have harmful effects to the local

environment.

2001 WGA Meeting The 2001 World Goldpanning Association annual meeting took place in Maryborough Australia on25th October 2001, the following is a brief report on the meeting/

1. Mr. Kauko Launonen, President of the World Goldpanning Association, opened the meeting by welcoming the members who were present. He presented

WGA Representatives line up to pay their National Dues

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the banner of the WGA to the mayor of Maryborough. 2. The meeting was officially recognised with a 2 representatives from each county, and the

execute committee. 3. The treasurer outlined the account status. (see Treasurer’s report ) 4. Items from the last meeting included the activation of a WGA web site and Italy’s European

Championships. 5. The Canada representatives outlined their bid for the 2005 championships and could not

explain why the WGA council had not received the bid. Due to these problems they withdrew their application. With no further applicants the council agreed that the 2005 Championships would go to South Africa.

6. The 2005 European championship host was discussed; all nations interested should submit applications two months before the World Championships in Japan.

7. Great Britain suggested some changes to the rules, these will be reviewed by nations and discussed at the next WGA meeting.

8. The rules governing what gold pans are allowed in competitions was discussed, the general feeling was this must be discussed further at future meetings.

9. The editors of Golden Times outlined the changes and planned changes in the newsletter and asked national representatives to encourage their members to send articles. They also asked for guidance from the council on:

a. Whether Golden Times should be published on the web site for all to see, or only sent to national representatives.

b. Should advertising be allowed to reduce costs. 10. The WGA web site was discussed with suggestions to add:

a. Chat room (for WGA discussion) b. WGA rules in all languages c. A sub web for the rules committee

11. The chairman thanked the council and the Australian hosts and declared the meeting closed.

The WGA Council congratulate South Africa on their winning bid

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Competition

The following pictures are all from World Championship events. See if you can tell the place and year. Send your entries to thurkettle@hotmail.com or by post to the address on the last page. Winning correct entry will be drawn on July 1st and the prize sent to the winner!

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The WGA Web Site The WGA web site is up and running, the first picture below show the home page.

By clicking on a National flag the WGA representative details and

image is shown

By clicking on the options, events throughout the world can be viewed, such as the 2002 Worlds in Japan. Please let us know what improvements we can make.

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SHORT HISTORY OF THE GOLDPANNING CHAMPIONSHIPS AND WORLD GOLDPANNING ASSOCIATION

The World Goldpanning Championships was started from Tankavaara, Finland in 1977 and there the Finnish Open was arranged for the first time in 1974. Since then there have been Finnish Open and/or World Championships in Tankavaara. During the years of 1977-1982 the World Championships were hosted by the Gold Museum Association in Tankavaara. Since then the event has been organized by different countries in Europe (Austria, Italy, France, Sweden, Scotland etc) and in Canada. Since 1982 Finland has hosted the Championships twice, in 1987 and 1993. Now more and more countries have become interested in the event, for example Australia, Japan, China, California and New Zealand. These countries arrange the national or/and local competition every year. World Goldpanning Association (WGA) whose headquarters are located in Tankavaara for the present supervises the Goldpanning Championships. There are over twenty membership countries and the annual meeting is held during the World Championships where new applications for the competitions are accepted. The WGA has prepared the exact rules for the competitions and these are constantly being evaluated and revised by the WGA. The WGA requires that country who host the World Championships are able to finance the event as well as include lots of activities concerning gold during the week and other interesting things to see and do. The area must have been panned for gold in it's history. Of course there are some other reasons too. Usually the national goldpanning associations or other organizations involved with gold and history help organize Championships. World Goldpanning Association: The representatives from Austria visited the World Goldpanning Championships in Tankavaara

sometime during the late 1970's. Among the representatives was Mr. Rudolf F. (Rudy) Ertl who later suggested that the international association in goldpanning should be established. The founder

members were President of the World Goldpanning Association, KaukoPfander were elected in the board. Then the draft ruleassociation were created. Now the headquarters of the WGA are in the TankavaLaunonen of Finland is the President of the associatiosecretary. Veronika Stedra of the Czech Rep. is the VEngland is the Treasurer

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Mr. Rudolf F. (Rudy) Ertl

Rudolf Ertl who was elected as the first Launonen, Inkeri Syrjanen and Peter

s was accepted and tasks of the

ara Gold Museum and Mr. Kauko n and Ms Inkeri Syrjanen as the ice President and Vincent Thurkettle of

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Dates for your Diary Austrian Championships 25.-26.5.2002 Pusterwald, Styria Information: Wolfgang Steinkellner, A-8764 Pusterwald, tel. 0664 2414230, e-mail: goldwaschmeisterschaften.pusterwald@utanet.at, http://web.utanet.at/goldwaschen Italian Championships 31.5.-2.6.2002 Victimula, Vermogno, Zubiena/Biella Information: e-mail: abcdoro@libero.it German Championships 12.-14.7.2002 Goldkronach Information: Deutsche Goldsuchervereinigung e.V. c/o Norert Kurtz, Sickenreuther Str. 29, 95497 Goldkronach, Germany, e-mail: norbert.kurtz@t-online.de, www.goldsucher.de Swedish Championships 13.-14.7.2002 Ullånger Information: Anki Hamberg, Viksäter 2550, S-87032 Ullånger, Tel/Fax (0613) 10669, e-mail: miranatura@swipnet.se Spanish Championships 26.-28.7.2002 Navelgas, Asturias Information: e-mail: navelgas@teleline.es, www.navelgas.com Finnish Championships 9.-11.8.2002 Tankavaara Information: Goldpanning Finnish Open, 99695 Tankavaara, Finland, tel. +358-16-626171, fax +358-626261, e-mail: *.*@kultamuseo.inet.fi, www.urova.fi/home/kulta South African Championships 20.-24.11.2002 Pilgrim's Rest Information: South African Gold Panning Association, PO Box 39, Pilgrim's Rest 1290, South Africa. Tel/Fax (013) 7681296, e-mail: digger@netactive.co.za European Championships in 2002 1.-7.7.2002 Saint Yrieix La Perche, France Information: Federation Francaise D'Orpaillage, President Serge Nenert, sergenenert@netcourrier.com Golden Mountain Goldpanning Championships 2.6.2002 Zloty Stok, Poland Information: info@goldcentrum.pl, www.goldcentrum.pl Raurisian Seasonal Goldpanning StartUP 22.6.2002, Heimalm Mountain Restaurant, Rauris, Salzburg, Austria Information: Niko Granegger, Postfach 25, A-5661 Rauris, tel. 0043 6544 6334, fax. 0043 6544 63344, e-mail: info@heimalm-rauris.at, www.heimalm-rauris.at Kopparberg Open 6.-7.7.2002 Kopparberg, Sweden Information: Ken Karlsson, Trastvägen 14, S-71433 Kopparberg, Tel/Fax (0) 580-13187, e-mail: ken.karlsson@telia.com Lannavaara Open 27.-28.7.2002 Lannavaara, Sweden Information: Kristallen Stenslip, Box 60, S-98013 Lannavaara, Tel (0) 981-31060, Fax (0)

981-31037, e-mail: info@kristallen.com, www.kristallen.com

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Golden Times The Official Newsletter of the World Goldpanning Association

ISSN 1238-0083 Publisher: Kauko Launonen, FIN-99695 Tankavaara

Tel: +358-16-626158, Fax,+358-16-626261 Editors:

Paul Thurkettle USA 757-848-9070 FAX 757-445-3785 Email: thurkettle@hotmail.com Address: 306 Riverside Dr, Hampton, VA, 23669 USA

Pirjo Muotkajárvi, FIN-99695 Tankavaara-Email:pirjo.muotkajarvi@kultamuseo.inet.fi Tel: +358-16-626171, Fax,+358-16-626271

Website: http://www.worldgoldpanningassociation.org

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